Are you ready for the big time?

Tips for competing in an AKC national obedience and/or rally championship event

In April I received a special email the AKC. My rescued Labrador retriever mix, Whitney had qualified to compete in the rally national competition in July in Wilmington, Ohio. 

The event was a seven-hour drive away, but I decided this might be a once in a lifetime chance, and I had to go for it. I entered, then had to consider the logistics of driving to, and attending an event that I’d never been to. Here are the answers to the questions I had before the event, and some tips for attending. 

Breathe and relax. Saying that is easier for me now than it was before the event, but remember that it’s only another trial. 

Choosing accommodations. Reservations for the venue hotel opened a couple of months before the event. I’d been told that reserving a room there would be difficult, so I reserved a room at a hotel in Wilmington about 15 minutes from the venue. As it turned out, that location worked perfectly. It was an easy and lovely 15-minute drive to the event center. The hotel i chose was near several fast food and sit down restaurants, plus a pet supply store, grocery stores, and parks. By luck we had a corner room that was separated by an extra door from the hallway. It severely cut down on the amount of noise we heard – and noises my dog would bark at.

Book your hotel or RV spot early. Don’t delay reserving a hotel or RV spot. My advise is to choose a hotel and make a (refundable) reservation as soon as you enter the event. Rooms near the venue will sell out, and If space is available closer to the event date, it will likely be more expensive.

Crate concerns. Your allotted crate space will be small, so be sure that your dog’s crate fits into your space. I had planned to take my trusty 36”x26” soft crate, which only opens from the front/short side. Two weeks before the trial, I discovered the crate space would be deeper than it is wide, so a crate that opened on the side would work best. I ordered a crate that opens on the side, and was glad I did. I put the crate at the back of the crate space, with my chair facing it. It made a nice little area for both of us. Also, don’t forget to bring your folding chair.

Bring a small non-slip area rug. One item I wished I’d brought was a small area rug to place outside the crate at the venue. It would have been handy to have outside the crate, to soak up water spills and to make the area less slippery for Whitney.

No need to check in early. Check in for the trial was between 4-5:30 p.m. the evening before the trial began. I arrived at about 3 p.m., and by 3:30 p.m., there was a line forming. I got in the line when it snaked halfway around the crating area. The line moved fairly quickly once check in began, but it was still a long time to stand in line with my dog. I noticed that by 5 p.m., there was no line for check in. Everyone arriving was walking right up and checking in without a wait. Why didn’t I do that? 

Souvenir suggestions. A couple of months before the event I received information about ordering souvenirs. Available were t-shirts, jackets, etc. embroidered with the logo patch that we’d pick up at the trial. I ordered a t-shirt but I hoped they’d have additional items for sale at the trial. They did not. They sold only the logo patch, program and a pin. As for the shirt I ordered, I don’t like it. The shirt color is darker than I expected, and to me, the logo looks odd on a t-shirt. In hindsight I wish I’d bought the patch and picked a shirt myself to put it on. I plan to remove it and put it on a different shirt eventually.

Choosing your crate space. For this year’s event, the AKC sent an email about three weeks before the event that detailed how to reserve your crate location. The email included a map of the venue with all crating locations. For individual crate selections, you were to look at the map, choose a location, and then log into the system at the designated date and time and select a spot. If you were crating as a group, one person designated by the group would select the crate spaces. Using the system to choose the spot was easy, and there was more crating space than I thought there would be.

Plan for breakfast (and other meals). The hotel I stayed in didn’t serve breakfast until after I needed to leave for the venue each morning. The concessions at the venue was only open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fortunately I’d brought breakfast bars and protein shakes for breakfast.

Bring what you need. If you’re traveling, be sure to bring the essentials your dog will need. Food, water and food bowl, treats, leashes etc. I was also happy I’d brought two soft crates – one for the hotel and the other for the venue.

Have fun! Above all else, enjoy yourself, and make sure it’s fun for your dog too. You train and compete to have a good time, so do that. No matter what happens in the ring, you’re leaving with the best dog.